


New Republic Vacation

by kcracken



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: X-wing Series - Aaron Allston & Michael Stackpole
Genre: Bounty Hunters, Siblings, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-04-10 17:33:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4401023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kcracken/pseuds/kcracken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wes and Hobbie get to take a vacation and run into two very beautiful women who happen to be on the run.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Republic Vacation

**Author's Note:**

> Written in 2007, this was just something my brain came up with involving two of my favorite pilots from the X-Wing and Wraith Squadron novels. I love Mike Stackpole and Aaron Allston for making these characters so great. I still miss Aaron. His passing really hurt a lot. Anyway, please enjoy this little romp.

Derek “Hobbie” Klivian stepped out onto the balcony of the suite he shared with Wes Janson. “You really surprised me this time, Wes.”

“How’s that?” his roommate and best friend asked from the bar. Wes poured each of them a glass of Corellian whisky.

“This is great. We have a suite with two bedrooms. The view is great… You gotta see this view! We’re right above the pool.” Hobbie leaned over the railing and looked down to ogle the women who were still basking in the setting sun.

Wes grinned as he brought Hobbie his glass. “Here,” he said handing it to him. “We’ve got to catch up with everyone else around here.”

Hobbie took the glass and grinned. He upended the glass and downed the entire contents. “We really deserved this vacation.”

Wes leaned his arms on the railing, his own empty glass in his hands. “Wedge deserves one more than we do.”

Hobbie turned around towards the room and leaned back. “Well, you know what a workaholic he is. And besides, he would never have as much fun as we will. For we are two lean, mean, chick-hunting machines!”

Wes chuckled. He felt so old. While he was only in his mid thirties, mentally he felt he must be at least ninety. He had seen so much in his lifetime, too much of it death. He never outwardly showed how he truly felt. Everyone would think that out of character for Rogue Squadron’s designated jester.

Comedy was the only thing that kept him sane. It kept him from going into complete withdrawal after Porkin’s death. After Yavin, he used his comedic talents as a way to keep himself preoccupied and to help others get over the deaths of squad mates. He used it many times when his partner-in-crime was near death. Hobbie had a habit of getting his X-Wing blown out from under him.

“Babe alert.”

Wes looked down in the same direction as Hobbie. He had to admit his partner had great taste in women. One had red hair and the other was a brunette. Both had bodies that wouldn’t quit. They dropped their towels on two chairs just below the balcony. “Not bad.”

“Not bad? They are gorgeous.”

Wes grinned. He watched the two young ladies dove into the pool. “Yeah, I guess. The red head is nice to look at.”

“And the brunette looks like my type, definitely.”

 

“Third balcony. See them?” Kieran emerged from the water and discretely looked towards the two men.

Merle surfaced beside her partner, her dark hair clinging to her head and shoulders. “You must be joking.”

“Oh come on. It will be fun. They aren’t bad to look at.”  
Merle had to agree. One was tall with light brown hair and the other was built with dark hair. To her, they looked like flyboys. There was nothing to gain from their type. They had no riches. “I don’t know Kier. They look like flyboys.”

“So. If they don’t have anything, at least we can have a good time. Even flyboys need that.”

She just sighed and ducked under the water.

 

Merle floated on her back. The setting sun provided a red glow to the sky. She looked up and thought about her past. She never had an easy life. She was adopted when she was very small. Her mother never told her about her real parents. All she ever said was, “I found you at the orphanage. Your parents had left you there to rot.”

She sighed and pushed the tears from her eyes. Flipping over, she swam to the side of the pool and emerged from the waters. She padded over to the lounge chair and picked up her towel. She dried her face first and wrung the water from her hair. A low wolf whistle caught her attention. She looked up to see Kieran’s marks looking down at her. She smiled up at them and the tall one waved.

“Wave back,” Kieran said from beside her.

She looked at her friend in awe. “No.”

“Aw, come on. It will be fun.” Kier waved back herself. She then pointed at the two men then down beside her. The blonde one smiled and nodded and they disappeared from the balcony.

“You didn’t just do what I think you did,” Merle asked.

Kieran smiled broadly. “Oh yes. This is our vacation, too. Let’s have some fun!”

Merle just shook her head and lowered herself on the chaise lounge.

 

“Yes! They want to see us.” Hobbie hurriedly poured himself and Wes more whisky.

“You are the _Man_ ,” Wes replied.

Hobbie ran into his room and brushed his hair. He slapped on some cologne and checked himself in the mirror. “Wes is right. I am _The Man_.”

The two men exited their room and walked to the lift. Once inside, Wes leaned against the wall. “Something doesn’t feel right about this.”

“Relax,” said Hobbie as he laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “This is our vacation. Live a little!”

Wes gave in with a sigh as they got off the lift. They walked through the lobby to the pool area. The red haired girl waved them over as soon as she saw them.

“Hi,” she said as they approached. “I’m Kieran and this is my friend Merle.” She pointed to the dark haired woman who opened one eye and nodded.

“My name is Hobbie and this is Wes.”

“Enchanté,” Wes said taking Kieran’s hand and kissing it gently.

“Oh, my,” she breathed.

Hobbie grinned and sat in the chair beside Merle. “So, are you two beautiful ladies on vacation?”

“Yes,” replied Kieran. “A well deserved one. What about you? You two look like pilots.”

“Why yes we are. And pretty good pilots, if I say so myself.”

 

Merle listened to the chatter as she kept her eyes closed. This was ridiculous. These two had no money, and that’s what they needed. Kieran had used the last of their reserves to get the hotel room. Suddenly, she realized that the other man still had not spoken. She was also getting a really creepy feeling. Opening one eye, she noticed the dark haired man, Wes, staring at her. “What?”

“They want to take us to dinner, Merle,” Kieran said excitedly.

She sat up quickly. “Where?”

Hobbie shrugged. “Someplace nice, for sure. How about we pick you two up in, say, two hours?”

“That will be…”

Merle quickly interrupted her companion. “We will meet you in the lobby in two hours.” She stood and grabbed her towel. “Come on Kier.”

Kieran got up flabbergasted, but quickly flashed a grin. “See you later,” she said and waved goodbye.

 

She ran to catch up with her partner. “Merle, wait!” Kieran slipped into the lift behind her. “What was that all about?”

Merle leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. “We don’t need them knowing where our room is.”

“Why,” she asked with a pouty look.

Merle sighed. “We’re in enough trouble as it is, Kier. If anyone looking for us asks those two guys, then they would be able to tell them where we are.”

Kieran’s eyes widened. “Oh no, they would never do that. At least I hope they wouldn’t.”

The doors opened and the young ladies walked into the corridor and to their room.

 

“So, what did you think,” Hobbie asked Wes as he sprawled in the chair Merle had vacated.

“Nice, easy on the eyes, personable…”

“And?”

“And nothing. I think we better get up to the room and change. I know how long it takes you to primp.” 

Hobbie tossed his glass at Wes, who deftly caught it right in front of his face. For once since they had started this vacation, Wes smiled a real smile.

 

Hobbie’s mouth fell open as the young women stepped off the lift. “Wow, you both look great.”

Kieran twirled around in her midnight blue strapless dress. A gold choker wrapped her neck and two crystals dangled from her earrings. “Why thank you. You two are quite handsome yourselves.”

Hobbie was wearing a tan knit shirt with black slacks. Wes wore a light blue shirt with khakis. Both had on loafers.

Merle moved up beside Kieran. She wore a black short-sleeved dress that fell to just above her knees and clung tightly to her body. The only jewelry she wore was a small sliver chain with a pendant. “Perhaps we should go.”

Hobbie offer her his arm, which she actually took. Kieran grabbed Wes’ arm and began to pull him along.

“There’s a little place just up the street that the concierge suggested,” said Hobbie. “He said they catered to all types.”

“Sounds divine,” replied Kieran.

 

The restaurant was only three blocks from the hotel. They were seated at a booth. The ladies slid in first and the guys sat to the outside. They chatted about nothing until the food arrived.

“So, Kieran, where are you from, originally,” Hobbie asked.

“Well, I was born on Alderaan. We didn’t live there long, though. My dad was a trader and we moved around a lot. What about you?”

“I grew up on Ralltiir, joined the Academy, dumped the Empire and went out on my own.”

“Ooooh, Imperial trained, huh? What about your partner there?”

“That’s a good question,” said Merle. “Where are you from, Wes?”

The man seemed to look right at her, yet didn’t notice she was speaking to him.

“Wes?”

 

_“Wes? Come on dear, you will be late for school.”_

_The young boy dragged himself into the kitchen. He looked to be about seven years old. He was big for his age and had hair as black as night. “I don’t want to go to school, mom. I want to stay and see if they found sissy yet.”_

_His mother sighed. “I’m sorry, son. They have stopped looking for her. They have done all they can.”_

_His head snapped up and he looked furiously at his mother. “NO! They can’t give up! She is out there. I KNOW she is!” Tears streamed down his cheeks._

_“I know Wes. I know…”_

 

“Wes? Are you awake over there?”

He snapped back to the present. His eyes focused on Merle’s neck. The pendant on her chain was silver. It had a stylized J etched on its surface. _That looks so familiar_ , he thought. “Did you say something?”

“They were asking what planet you’re from, bud,” answered Hobbie.

Wes shook his head slightly. “Tanaab, but that was a long time ago.”

“Ok Merle, your turn.”

Merle shifted uneasily beside Hobbie. “I don’t know where I was born. My mother adopted me when I was about three, I think. After that, we moved around a lot.”

“Next question,” piped Kieran. “If you could go back to any time in your life, when would it be and why?”

“That’s easy,” said Hobbie. “I’d go back about four hours ago when I first saw you two. That was the best thing I’ve ever seen in my life!”

Everyone chuckled at the blonde pilot. “What about you, Wes,” Kieran asked.

The normally jovial man looked at her somberly. “Question. Would we be the age we were then, or are we talking time travel?”

“Oooh, good question. I guess time travel. You know, go to right a wrong or whatever.”

“Then I would go back to when I was about seven.”

“Why?”

“To prevent my little sister from being kidnapped.”

“Oh, my. Did they ever find her?”

“No, never,” he said looking directly at Merle. “She was only three.”

Her eyes grew wide, and then she dropped her head. “That’s really sad,” she said.

“Yeah, bummer,” replied Kieran.

Merle got an uneasy feeling and looked up towards the entrance of the restaurant. “Uh, would you excuse us? We need to go powder our noses. Come on, Kier.” She almost pushed Hobbie from the seat trying to get out.

Wes stood and let Kieran out. Merle grabbed her by the elbow and led her towards the restrooms.

Once there, Kieran winced. “Ow. Why did you do that?”

“Because there is a bounty hunter in here. Look at where the maitre’d is.”

She glanced towards the front and saw the man in armor talking to the manager. “Uh-oh.”

“Come on, out the back.” Merle took her by the arm and they moved through the kitchen and out the back door.

 

“That was interesting,” Hobbie commented.

“That necklace,” Wes mumbled to himself.

“What necklace?”

“Merle’s. Didn’t you notice it?”

“Uhhh.”

“No, you wouldn’t. The pendant. I have one just like it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… uh-oh. We may have company.”

“What? Where?” Hobbie looked left and right.

Wes smacked him on the shoulder. “Stop that. There’s a bounty hunter talking to the manager. Waiter!”

“Yes sir.”

He pulled several creds from his pocket and counted them. “This should cover the dinner.” He handed the stack to the waiter.

The man raised an eyebrow as he counted one hundred and fifty credits. “That will be sufficient.”

“Oh,” added Hobbie as they stood. “Please let the young ladies who were here with us that we had an emergency to take care of.”

“Yes sir.”

 

Merle exhaled deeply as she lay on a lounge chair by the pool. Dinner had been nice, yet she sensed something odd about Wes. She and Kier had easily dogged the bounty hunter and made it back to the hotel in one piece. All she wanted to do now was relax.

A shadow fell over her. “Ever seen this before,” asked a deep voice.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. Before her dangled a silver chain with a pendant. “How did you…” She sat up and reached for the necklace, but felt hers hanging from her neck. Quickly, she clutched her own necklace.

Wes wrapped the chain around his fingers to bring the pendant between his forefinger and thumb. “The J stands for Janson, my family name. See this?” He turned it around to show her that his name was engraved on the back. “Every child in my family has one of these. Where did you get that one?”

“I’ve had it all my life,” she replied defensively. “My mother had hidden it after she adopted me. I found it and kept it. For some reason, I knew it was something my real family gave me.”

“Look at the back. Tell me what it says.”

She pulled the pendant up to look at it. Slowly she turned it over. Her brows creased. The back had been scratched. “There’s nothing here.”

He was irritated. “It should say ‘Merii.’ That’s your name. It has to be. Let me see it.” He reached out to take the necklace from her.

She blocked his arm and pushed it out of the way. “No, you’re mistaken. It’s nothing but a scratch.” Her eyes darted to the right. She jumped to her feet and pushed him out of the way. “You’re wrong.” She dove into the pool and quickly swam away.

“Wait!” Wes cursed himself. That went nothing like he had planned. His necklace slipped from his hand and dropped on the ferracrete. Sighing, he stooped to pick it up. It was then that he saw the same bounty hunter from the night before. That was it. They were who the hunter was looking for. Standing and putting the chain in his pocket, Wes lowered his head and walked quickly towards the hotel.

“Hi Wes,” Kieran said as she approached him. “I was on my way to take Merle a drink.”

Wes grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards the lift.

“What the hell? Ow, Wes, stop. You’re hurting me!”

He said nothing until the doors closed. “We need to have a talk.”

“Talk? Why?”

“There’s something going on with you and Merle and now I’m going to get myself involved in this.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said defiantly.

The lift doors opened on the third floor. “I was talking to Merle when she up and left rather quickly. Do you know why? Because there was a bounty hunter by the pool.”

Kieran stopped. “Oh no,” she said quietly.

Wes motioned for her to get off the lift. “Come on. Let’s go to my room so we can talk.”

She nodded and walked into the hallway. He led her down the corridor to the room he shared with Hobbie. Once inside, Kieran sat on the couch. “You guys aren’t some kind of cops, are you?”

“Let’s just say I have a vested interest in what happens to you and Merle.”

Hobbie walked out from his room and saw them. “Hey, guys.” Kieran waved to him. He went to the bar. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“I’ll take a juice, please,” said Kieran.

“Got any caf brewed?” asked Wes.

“Sure.” Hobbie poured each drink and brought them over. “So, what are you doing here, Kieran?”

Wes looked at his partner. “She’s going to tell us why she and Merle are being hunted.”

“Whoa, are you serious?” When he saw them both nod, he flopped down in the chair beside him. “This is too much.”

“Kieran, why do you and Merle have a bounty on you?”

She sighed. _Merle is gonna kill me for this_. “Merle and I, well, we, um, ah, uh, we, uh, liberate people from money they don’t need. We only go after those who look like they need their loads lightened.” Her eyes had gone wide. “Really!”

“It’s ok, Kier. We understand. So who did you con that was so important that they have bounty hunters looking for you?”

“Well, um, a few months ago we landed on this small planet and found two eager marks. Unfortunately, one happened to be the son of the local Moff. We didn’t know this until he proposed to Merle. There was no way she was going to marry a sleazy guy like him.

“Anyway, he got angry when she refused. And… and…” She paused and looked like she was on the verge of tears.

“What happened,” Wes asked.

She bit her lower lip. “She’ll kill me if I tell you.”

“She killed him,” asked Hobbie.

“Oh no,” she answered shaking her head violently. “She could never do that.”

“Then what happened,” Wes pushed.

“He… he…” she paused and lowered her voice to a whisper. “He beat her.”

_CRASH!_

Kieran and Hobbie both looked at Wes. He had crushed the mug that was in his hand. Blood and caf dripped from his fingers.

Wes saw them staring and looked down at his hand. He hadn’t even felt it. He stood and moved towards the sink at the bar. On the way, he pulled his necklace from his pocket and threw it to Kieran. “Does that look familiar?”

She deftly caught the chain and looked at the pendant. “How did you get Merle’s necklace?”

He turned on the water and let it wash over his hand as he began to pick the pieces of the mug that had embedded in his hand. “It’s not hers. It’s mine. Look at the back.”

She turned it over. _Wes_ was engraved on the other side. “But it looks just like hers.”

“How long has Merle had that necklace?”

“As long as I’ve known her, which was when we were about fifteen. What does this mean? She said her mom had hidden it from her. But she stole it and hid it for herself. She thinks it has something to do with her real family.”

“I think she may be right.”

Suddenly there was a knock on the balcony door. Hobbie jumped up. “Who could that be?” He ran over and pulled back the blind as the door was sliding open. Before him stood a shivering and wet Merle. She collapsed in his arms unconscious.

Hobbie stood openmouthed as he supported the young woman. He picked her up and took her to the couch. Wes had wrapped his hand in a towel and went to get a blanket. He gently draped it over Merle’s limp form. “How did she get up here,” asked Hobbie.

Merle slowly regained consciousness and looked up into the worried eyes of those around her. “I made it,” she said weakly.

Kieran threw her arms around her best friend. “Oh, Merle! I’m so glad you’re ok. What happened?”

“I had to swim a few more laps than I had expected.”

“Did the hunter see you?” asked Wes.

Her eyes snapped to look at him. “But how…?” She looked in his eyes and saw her answer. “No. I finally made it to the private end of the pool and slipped out into the woods. That’s when it started raining. The hunter took up a watch at the doorway to the lobby. The only option I had was to climb the balconies.”

“That was pretty dangerous. You could have gotten hurt.”

“If that hunter had gotten me, it would have been worse.”

Kieran bit her lip and looked about to cry. “I’m sorry Merle. I told them. I told them everything.”

She looked up at her friend. “It’s ok, Kier. I have a feeling they are a bit more important to us now than just a free meal ticket.” Her eyes turned to Wes. She reached up to her neck and removed the necklace. “I lied,” she said as she handed it to him.

Wes took the chain and lifted the pendant. _Merii_ was engraved on the back, however it was scratched a bit. He knew what it said and that was all that mattered. “Merii,” he whispered. Tears flowed from his eyes and fell down his cheeks.

Merle reached up to take his hands. “I think you and I need to have a talk; a long talk.”

He nodded. “Yes.” He looked up at the others. “Kier. Hobbie. Go to their room and get them checked out of the hotel. Make sure you are seen leaving. Come back here tonight when there is a new staff working.”

Hobbie nodded. “Good idea. Think you two will be ok?”

Merii smiled. “We will be just fine. We need the time anyway.”

 

Hobbie and Kieran dashed up the stairs to the seventh floor where the girls’ room was. They stopped at the door to the floor to catch their breath. Hobbie cracked open the door to check the hall. “Damn. He’s there. Looks like ya’ll have been ratted out.”

Kieran cringed. “Sithspit. What are we going to do now?”

Hobbie peeked out again. The bounty hunter was ringing the door again. If there was no answer this time, he was sure the hunter would blast the door down. He turned to Kieran. “Give me your key.”

“Why?”

He looked her in the eye. “Trust me. Pretend you’re drunk.”

She saw the determination in his eyes and nodded, slipping the key into his hand as she messed her hair up.

Hobbie kicked the door open and pulled her out with him. “I hope ya got th’ right floor this time,” he slurred. “I’m tired o’ walking th’ dang stairs.” He staggered towards the room. “S’cuse me,” he said to the bounty hunter as he pushed in front of him to get to the door. He fumbled with the key, trying to get it into the reader.

“Is this your room?” the hunter asked rather blandly.

Hobbie looked the guy cross-eyed. “Yep. Ya wanna make somethin’ of it?” He put his fists up in a mock fighting stance. 

Kieran nearly freaked. She grabbed the key card he had dropped and slipped it into the reader. She heard the lock click open. She looked back to see that Hobbie had leaned against the hunter and was whispering to him.

“She’s a babe, isn’t she,” he said with a wink. He pushed away from the hunter. “Well, she’s mine an’ you can’t have her.” He intentionally fell into Kieran and opened the door. They tumbled in and Hobbie kicked the door closed. He exhaled as he reached to lock the door.

“Is he…”

Hobbie put a finger to her lips. He leaned against the door and listened. A moment later, he heard footsteps moving away from the door. “That was close,” he said sitting on the floor.

Kieran had moved to collect her and Merle’s things. They didn’t have much, just some clothes and personal items. Merle didn’t keep much and she had pawned the last of her jewelry to get them this room. Kieran had hoped this trip would have been uneventful and they would have time to relax for a while. She sighed. The attempt had proved futile. 

Now her life was falling apart. Merle wasn’t really Merle. She was Merii. And she has a brother who was exceptionally cute. Now her brother and his friend were mixed up in the mess they had caused. She really felt bad about everything.

Hobbie pulled his comlink from his pocket. “Red Four to Red Six, do you copy?” He gritted his teeth and murmured, “Come on, Wes, answer me.”

 

Merii patched up Wes’ hand. “How exactly did you get these cuts?” she asked.

“A mug broke in my hand,” he replied. “Ow, that stings.” His hand jerked back from the ointment she was putting on the cuts.

“Of course it stings. It wouldn’t work if it didn’t. So how did the mug break? Was the drink too hot?”

Wes looked his sister in the eyes. He was startled by the wistful gleam in them. It was as if he was looking into a mirror. “No, it just broke.”

She intentionally turned his hand roughly, gaining another “ow” from him. She grinned. “How can a mug just break? There must have been some pressure against it.” She turned his hand roughly again.

“Sheesh, ok, I broke it.” He pulled his injured hand to him after she finished securing the bandage.

“That’s better. Why?”

He looked at her seriously. “Because I was upset when Kieran told us about what happened between you and Moff boy.”

She saw concern and anger in his eyes. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

“Yes,” he replied quietly, lowering his head. “But I was supposed to take care of you when you were little.”

Merii lifted his chin to look at him. “That wasn’t your fault. We both were kids. You had no idea that would happen.”

Suddenly, Wes’ comlink beeped. “ _Red Four to Red Six, do you copy?_ ” It was Hobbie! “Red Six here. What’s up?”

“They’ve been made. The hunter was trying to get into their room when we got here.”

“Where are you?”

“In the room; I’ll tell you how later. I think it may be time for us to get off this rock.”

Wes cursed inwardly; so much for a nice relaxing vacation. “Ok, get back here. We’ll make plans.”

“Roger. Red Four out.” 

Wes sighed and looked at Merii. “We have problems. I want you to stay here and wait for Hobbie and Kieran. I’m going to go find a way for us to get off this planet.”

“No. I don’t want to be alone. I want to go with you.”

He looked at her, still wrapped in the blanket with her bathing suit beneath. “You’re not exactly dressed to go out with me. And besides, I’m not going to loose you again.”

Her face drooped. “I guess you’re right. Be careful, Wes.”

He grinned. “I may not be a Corellian, but I’m pretty lucky without it.” Picking up his jacket, he walked out the door, locking it behind him.

 

Wes pulled the nerf-hide jacket collar up. His eyes cut left and right as he slipped through the crowded streets. The weather had turned cooler after the rainstorm. Everyone was hunched over as they walked. He fit in very easily.

He wound his way from the hotel to the port. Stopping at one of the kiosks, he checked departure times. There were several luxury liners leaving sometime during the evening. He booked passage on three of them for himself and the others under different names. When the time came, he would decide which ship they would board. Satisfied with his work, he turned away from the kiosk and headed back towards the hotel.

A cloaked figure two kiosks away turned and watched him leave. It walked over to where Wes had been and looked at the screen. Smiling, it made its plan.

 

Wes walked into the room and smiled. Hobbie had already gotten their stuff together. Just like his partner to think ahead. “I’ve booked us a flight out of here.”

Hobbie just nodded as he hefted another bag onto the pile.

“Where to?” asked Kieran.

“I don’t know yet. We’ll find out when we get there.”

She frowned at Merii. “You booked us on several flights, didn’t you?” sister asked brother.

Wes nodded. “I’ll decide which one when we get to the port.”

Merii understood. “It’s ok, Kieran. Standard procedure when you’re trying to loose someone on your tail. We’ve never had to do it because up until now, we’ve had our own ship.” She hugged her friend and tried to cheer her up. “Besides, I’m sure Wes wants us to be as safe as possible.”

Kieran nodded. “Ok. I’m just not used to not knowing things.”

“I know. But you have to trust us, okay?”

“Okay.”

Wes picked up a cloak from the back of the couch and held it for Kieran. “Put this on. You and I will leave first. Hobbie, I will meet you two at the ticket office.”

The other man nodded as he picked up another cloak for Merii.

 

Kieran huddled in the cloak as she followed Wes. She was grateful for its warmness. Many things were going through her mind. How were she and Merle going to get out of this one? Maybe this was all one of Merle’s grand schemes and they would end up safe. She doubted that.

Wes stopped at a corner just before the entrance to the port. He looked around for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing jumped out at him, so he grabbed Kieran by the elbow to pull her along. 

She didn’t budge. He tugged harder and she still didn’t move. Turning around, he found the muzzle of a blaster in his face. He looked down the arm to the face of his aggressor. The hood of the cloak prevented seeing it. Kieran stood behind the cloaked creature looking white as a stormtrooper.

He raised his arms. “Hey, what’s the deal?”

The figure’s other hand reached for Wes’ blaster. 

Wes did not move. He continued look into the hood in an attempt to see a face. A flash of movment pulled his attention back to the blaster. The blaster flicked to the side, directing him to move beside Kieran. She grabbed his arm tightly as he stepped up beside her. “It will be okay,” he whispered to her.

The creature looked at Wes’ blaster. “You’re on a neutral world and all you take is this?” it asked with a very familiar voice.

Wes reached out quicker than anyone would have thought and pushed down the hood. “Sithspit, Lieutenant. What the hell are you doing here?”

Lieutenant Shalla Nelprin smiled and offered Wes his blaster. “I had a job to do. Wedge was afraid you two might get in trouble and asked me to keep an eye on you.” She glanced towards the port office. “I think he was right.”

Just going into the port office was a familiar figure. The armored bounty hunter from the night before disappeared inside. “Wes,” Kieran whimpered.

Shalla raised an eyebrow. “Who’s the chick?”

Wes looked down and saw how scared Kieran looked. “This is Kieran. She’s a friend of my sister. We have got to get out of here.”

“Sister?”

“Long story.” Wes pulled the hand full of boarding passes from his jacket pocket. Randomly, he chose a set. “We’re going to be on the cruiser to…” He stopped when he saw the final destination of the flight. “Tanaab,” he continued without a word, “meet us there and we’ll arrange transport back to Coruscant.”

The Wraith nodded and disappeared into the shadows.

Wes looked towards the office and saw the bounty hunter still talking to the officer on duty. He pulled Kieran to him and walked into the port. It didn’t take long to find Merii and Hobbie. He slipped Hobbie two tickets and led him to the ship headed for Tanaab.

Once aboard, the ladies went to get settled in their room. Hobbie and Wes went to the bar. “What took you two so long?” Hobbie asked as he sipped his drink.

“We ran into an old friend,” Wes replied. He scanned the bar. He didn’t see any familiar faces.

“Anyone I know?”

“Yep. A Wraith.”

Hobbie nearly choked on his drink. “Who?”

“Shalla. Unbeknownst to us, we have had a baby sitter since we got here.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. Wedge sent her. Thanks to her, Kieran and I didn’t walk right into the bounty hunter.”

Hobbie whistled low. “Well, that’s good news. So, where are we going?”

“Tanaab. Rather ironic. We’ll get a transport back to Coruscant from there.”

The other man nodded and set his drink down. “Well, since we have time, we may as well make the best of it.”

Wes smiled and followed his friend. Yes, this had turned out to be an interesting vacation indeed.


End file.
